When we got to the shop Friday morning there was a white 2002 Taurus sitting there that had been towed in the night before. There is some history on this car, it's typically been worked on by a family friend and about two months ago was towed into our shop after several failed attempts to solve a no-start had to jump the car to start complaint. That turned out to be a combination of issues which included a battery that developed a high rate of self discharge and that was brought about by the owners typical use where she doesn't drive the car long enough each time she starts the car to fully recharge the battery. To maintain a strong battery an average trip should be around five miles with no accessories and could easily be more than ten miles during conditions when a lot of electrical power is being used. (aka headlights, defrosters, wipers, etcetera) The customers average trip is under two miles and only on rare occasions drives five to ten miles. That kind of use over time depletes the batteries reserve capacity and has it operating under a condition of a low state of charge and that leads to sulfation and battery failure. There was a note that said the car would not start, would not crank. The family friend had already replaced the alternator even though it tested OK at the parts store, and had removed and then re-installed the starter after it was tested and shown to be OK. The parts store said that the car needed a new battery.

Think about how you would approach this car and begin your diagnostics. The answer and findings will be in the post just below.